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World Malaria Day - A Day to Act

Malaria is the leading cause of death in Zambia for children under five. The same is true for children living in Uganda.

“The international malaria community has less than a year to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria, as called for by the U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon,” according to Roll Back Malaria partnership.

And there’s a lot of work to be done.

Malaria is a mosquito-transmitted disease that can be treated and prevented. ChildFund works with children and their families to educate them on prevention and awareness.

We teach families to recognize the symptoms of and prevent the spread of malaria through treated bed nets and residual spraying of their houses.

“Before the spraying, I used to think about sleeping outside (in the backyard) because of those ticks, mosquitoes and other insects [inside]. They didn't allow me to sleep,” says Caroline Mwanza, a mother in Angola whose house was sprayed to protect her family from malaria.

“We are now free from mosquitoes. If this program continues, a lot of diseases can be avoided.”

As we mark World Malaria Day on April 25, you can help ChildFund improve child and family health in the Thies region of Senegal by contributing to community health huts. Community health huts offer more comprehensive health services, including referrals and follow-ups regarding cases of malaria.

You can also help protect children and pregnant women in The Gambia, Afghanistan and India from malaria by purchasing bed nets through ChildFund’s Gifts of Love and Hope Catalog.